The ngesiNdebele Collection

"The Ndebele Culture has always captivated and enticed me through their bright and colorful artworks ever since I came across the culture while learning about their paintings in school. Learning about the Southern side of the Ndebele Culture, also known as ngesiNdebele, allowed me to understand the history and depth of what makes up their culture and allowed me to gain a deeper interest in their culture not only visually through their artworks.

The Southern Ndebele  is most famous's for their incredible craftsmanship, distinctive and extremely colourful dress and decorations. Their colourful beadwork and mural paintings fuels their uniqueness. These paintings can most famously be seen on their houses.

Their designs and colours used carry symbolic meanings and this inspired me to create a collection that carries meaning and represents the Ndebele culture with a modern twist.

 

I drew inspiration from their geometric patterns, colours, fauna and flora and elements that make up the Culture as a whole and created contemporary textiles that can be used in any modern home today, along with two textiles for the kiddies to enjoy.

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Apart from the visual elements that drew my inspiration, understanding that the purest form of the Ndebele language is falling away, pushed me to create this collection so that others are aware of the Ndebele Culture. The language is falling away as Ndebele speakers are solely depending  on the language to be passed on through the generations. With this some Ndebele speakers speak other languages such as Northern Sotho or Zulu as they find that these languages are more useful and adaptable. Zulu is also taught to the youth at school which is also a contributing factor for the loss of Ndebele speakers. This is why I have pushed for this collection and have made sure to incorporate Ndebele words on one of the textiles."

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-Alexia Patsalos

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